Shanay Freeman, a junior at the Metropolitan Campus, is a stellar performer on and off the court. The forensic psychology major, who plays guard for the Knights women’s basketball team, is in the honors program and is a consistent honor student. “This year, I was nominated to the Phi Zeta Kappa Honor Society and also to Psi Chi, the national honor society for psychology,” she relates. “I was also named a Valley Bank Scholar Athlete and was on the NEC Academic Honor Roll.” This October, Shanay will represent FDU at the NCAA Regional Leadership Conference.

Even as a student at Townsend Harris High School in Flushing, N.Y., Shanay had always been an academic achiever. An honors student, she was also student government president, a member of the concert band and other organizations and was on the basketball and track and field teams. “I graduated with honors and received awards such as The President’s Award for Academic Excellence and the Chancellor’s Roll of Honor,” she says. “I also received numerous student-athlete awards and in my senior year was named Athlete of the Year by the Times Ledger.” In basketball, Shanay broke her school’s record for points scored — with more than 1,600 points made — and consistently led her team in scoring.

An excellent student-athlete, Shanay is enjoying a full athletic scholarship at FDU. She admits though that it was not just the scholarship that made her choose the University. “I also chose to attend FDU because of its good psychology program,” she adds.

Over the summer, Shanay worked on widening her knowledge about criminal justice, which is her minor. “I interned at the Juvenile Crimes Bureau of the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office,” she states. “It turned out to be a great experience especially because I want to study juvenile law and pursue a career in it in the future. I’ve always been interested in juvenile delinquency and understanding the psychology behind why they do the things they do.”

After graduation, Shanay hopes to work on a master’s degree in forensic psychology. “If the program is offered at FDU, I’ll stay on and enter law school after I receive my master’s degree,” she says. “I also want to study juvenile law and become a lawyer.” She also plans to enter politics as a New York State congressman or assemblyman to “help preserve not only my community but my state as well. If all goes as planned, who knows? I may just run for president of the United States!”

In her own words:

On the best part about studying at FDU: I get to meet so many from different countries. Being at FDU will give me the opportunity to broaden my outlook on many cultures.

On her favorite classes: I found my classes in Forensic Science and Child Development very interesting.

On her family: I come from a big family. I am the oldest of five children of Gary and Renee Freeman. It’s a title I share with my twin sister, Danay, who attends Virginia State University, Petersburg, Va. I also have three brothers: Dathan, a sophomore at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, and twins Garren and Jarret, who are high school juniors. It’s a very fun household, especially with two sets of twins.